Save Yourself
by ohmytheon
Summary: Bakugou is alarmed when he hears a fight over the phone and realizes a villain has broken into Uraraka's apartment to attack her, but she's not the type of hero that waits for someone else to rescue her.


**Notes:** Straight up inspired by the Chun-Li vs Vega fight in the Street Fighter movie. This is really just an excuse to both make Bakugou care more and also show that Uraraka is a badass.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

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Uraraka was usually pretty good about answering her phone after the first few rings. She'd pick up the phone and answer it that absurdly bubbly, ready-to-go voice of hers no matter what unless she was in the shower or something. As a pro hero, they didn't get the option of unplugging. They had to have their phones on them at all times just in case they received one of those "we need a hero!" calls in the middle of the night.

So far, Bakugou hadn't gotten any truly dire ones, which was kind of disappointing if he was being honest. He liked the rush that came with his job, the adrenaline pumping in his veins and explosions ready at the hand. Even if it did sort of wreck his personal life, he was always ready to charge onto the scene and blast a villain to high hell. People could count on him to fight for them – or fight with them, depending on which side they were on.

Of course that meant his rescues were sorely lacking. He wasn't known for being a rescue hero. Explosions didn't do much in the way of saving people from disasters or the like. He saved them from villains and he was actually a damn good detective as well when it counted. He left most of the civilian rescues to other people that had softer personalities.

Like Uraraka. She was good at that. Okay, she was better than good. She was excellent at rescues. Her quirk came in handy a ton of times, be it lifting huge chunks of rubble off people or saving them from a ten story building that had been turned into a bonfire. She could always be counted on.

Except for right now apparently since she wasn't answering her damn phone.

"Where the hell are you, Round Face?" Bakugou demanded when her voicemail popped up. "You aren't bailing on me, are you?"

Bakugou hadn't planned on going to Ashido's birthday party at some upscale bar that served cocktails at outrageous prices and tiny appetizers. He'd considered it and then figured that he had better things to do. Then Uraraka had mentioned it casually, saying she wanted to go but wasn't for sure since she it was so pricey. The girl had money now and she was still edgy about spending it. Somehow that had evolved into she'd go if he went and he'd actually agreed, begrudgingly so.

It was only a few days later that he'd found out from Kirishima that Ashido had put Uraraka up to it. He could've dropped out, but it felt too late. He'd committed to going and so was she. They had made plans so that he would pick her up since he sure as hell didn't trust her to drive after two drinks and it was a quick cab ride to his place. To be honest, Bakugou wasn't certain how those plans had been made since it didn't sound like something he'd agree to or come up with.

But now she wasn't answering her phone and he was beginning to think that she hadn't been lying about not wanting to spend so much money.

"You're not gonna ignore me," Bakugou grumbled as he dialed her number again. He'd keep calling until he got an answer. Did that make him pathetic? No, if anything, it made him persistent.

From what he knew, Uraraka very rarely went out these days and had fun. Granted, he was all about his work too, but he still did things. Her closest friends didn't live nearby though, having gotten jobs at agencies far away, which left her kind of adrift. It was how she'd managed to get pulled into his group more or less. She had come out with them a few times, almost always at Ashido's or Kaminari's insistence. It was strange seeing her in his group since he had associated her with Deku for so long, but he was off doing whatever crazy stuff he had to do. That left her with them. Weird but not terrible.

This time, the phone picked up on the other end and Bakugou huffed. "Finally. What the hell took–?"

The sound of something crashing cut Bakugou off mid-sentence. It had sounded like someone had thrown the phone across the room. He waited with bated breath, silent for once, as he strained to listen. There was another noise, another crashing sound, like wood being broken – and then, unmistakably, a female scream of pain. It was Uraraka. He'd never heard her scream like that before, even though he'd seen her pass out, punched, cut up, and all sorts of things. That scream was something different though. It was so raw, like it had been torn out of her.

He didn't know what the hell was going on, except that it sounded like she was being attacked in her own apartment and his heart shot into his throat at a hundred miles per hour.

"Hang on!" he shouted, even though he knew logically that she wouldn't be able to hear him, especially with all that racket going on. He threw his phone into the passenger seat and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. Kirishima had accused him of being a speed demon already, so this was nothing new. Bakugou flew through the night traffic, ignoring people blaring their horns at him when he cut them off and blasting through lights right at the last second.

He had to get there. He had to get to her. All he kept picturing was some faceless monstrous villain breaking into her place and attacking her while she was getting ready for something as lighthearted as a birthday party. It was ridiculous. This was her home. Villains didn't attack heroes in their own home. It was like some sort of taboo. They just didn't do it, not less there was a serious grudge to be taken care of.

 _Who the hell did you piss off, Angel Face?_

Uraraka had been staring at her reflection in the mirror, trying to figure out what to do with her hair, when she'd heard something that sounded like someone walking up behind her. Which was weird since she lived alone and Bakugou wasn't here yet. Right as she began to turn around, she caught sight of another reflection in her mirror and ducked just in time before a flying metal spoke could stab her in the head. Instead, it crashed into her mirror and shattered it. Damn, she'd really liked that vanity too.

Standing before her was a man that she recognized as the villain she'd been tracking down. It turned out that he had found out and had decided to confront her in her own bedroom. Well, that was one way of getting caught.

"Coming to turn yourself in?" Uraraka asked, knowing full well what his answer would be.

The villain smirked. "Decided I'd get you out of my way, but now I don't know if it was even necessary."

That was what he thought. Uraraka knew what she looked like: not much. Compared to Deku's insane power, Bakugou's wild tenacity, Iida's ridiculous speed, or Todoroki's skills, she didn't appear to be much in the way of a fighter. She was still short and, despite the constant work outs, never quite lean like most of the other female pro heroes out there. Her constantly pink cheeks gave her a cherub face that looked too innocent to give a punch or kick. She knew that she didn't look like she could put up a fight.

Which was exactly why she did.

After her lessons with Gunhead in her first year and then getting into it with the League of Villains, Uraraka had jumped headfirst into learning hand-to-hand combat and combining it with her quirk. No way was she ever going to let anyone get the best of her again because she couldn't fight. She was a hero and she would fight like one. Sure, she might excel at rescues, but combat was something she shined at surprisingly when put in the position. This villain didn't know what he was getting himself into.

When he leaped forward to attack her with a knife protruding out of his finger, Uraraka dodged. That knife was so sharp and slick that it shined in the dim light. She was forced to dodge a few more times, bouncing around on her heels throughout the bedroom. He was quick, but messy, not quite as coordinated in a fight as she was. When she rolled over her bed to the other side, he stabbed down into the mattress, missing her by a second. She took the opportunity though, grabbing her blanket and jerking it up and twisting it around so that the blanket wrapped around the villain's knife fingers. She activated her quirk on herself, jumping up and over the villain so that the blanket went over his head, before releasing her quirk and pulling hard so that the villain was slammed backwards into the ground.

The victory was short-lived when the villain sliced through the blanket and stabbed her by the ankle. Before she could pull out of his grip, he threw her to the side and she rolled on the ground a few times before crashing into the wall. Just as she was pulling herself to her feet, the villain was on her, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her up so that her toes barely touched the ground. However, when he moved to stab her, she grabbed his wrist and activated her quirk on him. His feet flailed in surprise at the sudden lack of gravity and she kicked him in his chest, sending him flying away from her. She dropped to a knee and released her quirk so that he hit her dresser with his full weight, knocking pictures and a vase of flowers off the top.

Her throat ached from being grabbed, tiny cuts bleeding from where his fingers had started to grow their knives, but that didn't stop her. Uraraka wouldn't stop fighting until this guy was out for good.

Uraraka moved to finish him off when he shot out knives from his fingers again. She dodged the first two, but not the third one. It sliced through the side of her left thigh, the pain searing as blood spurted out of the wound. It caused her to stumble, which gave the villain just enough time to jump back to his feet and rush attack her. A punch to her gut made her double over and grunt in pain, but then he grabbed her by the back of her hair and threw her against the side of her bed, his grip tight enough that he ripped out some of her hair.

She'd hit the box spring of her mattress, knocking the air out of her, but she didn't have time to take a breather. She rolled out of the way just when the villain slashed at her so that he sliced through the mattress instead. She kicked him out of the way so that she could dash into the living room where she heard her phone ringing. So caught up in the fight, she hadn't heard it the first time, but she heard it now even through the blood pumping in her ears.

 _"Where the hell are you, Round Face?"_ came Bakugou's voice on the answering machine. _"You aren't bailing on me, are you?"_

That was right. Bakugou was on his way to pick her up for Ashido's party. She'd already forgotten it during the fight. Before she could reach the phone though, another knife caught her in the leg and she went crashing to the ground. She rolled onto her back and touched the villain's leg when he reached down to grab her. He floated again, this time more aware of what to do, but she put both her feet on his chest and shoved him up. The second before he hit her ceiling, she released her quirk and he crashed into it and then fell back onto the ground face first.

Standing up was painful with both her legs injured. Fighting in the t-shirt and shorts was better than had she been wearing her outfit for tonight's outing, but it still didn't offer her any cover. She felt exposed. Blood slid down her legs and pooled at her feet. She had to attack before he did, but she slipped in her own blood and stumbled again.

 _Idiot!_ she thought harshly when the villain took her mess up to slash at her again. Staggering forward, she couldn't lean back, so she tried to roll to the side, but his finger knives caught her in the shoulder. She crashed into the table where her once again ringing phone – a cute little cat phone that Bakugou deemed "the fugliest thing" he had ever seen – knocking it off the table. When the villain pressed a foot down on her injured shoulder, like he could squeeze the blood out of her, she couldn't help the scream that tore out of her throat.

She was not going to take this lying down though. He kept making the stupid mistake of getting within her reach and she snatched him by the ankle. Without his gravity, she flipped him like a wheel as she sat up so that his feet were in the air and his head was at her level and she punched him as hard as she could. He went spinning around like an out of control windmill. She dragged herself to her feet and charged towards him, slamming hard into his body and releasing her quirk so that he hit the wall and knocked over a lamp.

She was not going to give up! She was a fighter! And if this villain thought he could just come into her home and take her out, then he had another thing coming.

The villain pulled himself up and wiped some blood off the side of his mouth, which curled into a nasty grin. "This is more fun that I thought it would be. I like playing with you, Uravity."

Uraraka clenched her hands into fists. "You think I'm playing?"

"No, but I am," the villain told her, "and play time is over."

Had he just been only messing with her before? Was that why he'd let her grab a hold of him so many times? Uraraka gritted her teeth and got into a fighting stance. No more stupid mistakes. She hadn't been playing, but now she was going to kick it into overdrive. It was time to go plus ultra. That was what it meant to be a hero.

She didn't rush at him – she'd learned the hard way back in her first year at the Sports Festival that going head on didn't work – but instead activated her quirk on her couch. The villain's eyes widened at the sight of her grabbing the couch like it was nothing and launching it at him like it was a rocket. It was too large for him to dodge and she released her quirk so that it slammed into him and knocked him across the room. She didn't give him a chance to recover, now rushing him and jumping over the couch so she could kick him while he was pinned underneath it.

He thought he knew what she was capable of. He had no idea, but she was about to give him one.

Bakugou's car just barely managed to not crash into the sidewalk when he slammed on the breaks and put it into park. He bolted out of car and ran into her apartment building. He could hear sirens in the distance. No doubt the police had been called upon her neighbors hearing the fight. They wouldn't be here in time, but he was. He skipped the elevator – his adrenaline too high to simply wait in an elevator – and he took the stairs two at a time. She was on the fourth level, which he reached in record time. Just when he ripped open the door for her floor, there was an insanely loud crash and scream from down the hall in the direction of Uraraka's apartment.

One of her neighbors peeked out their door timidly and Bakugou waved a hand at them, snapping, "Stay inside! I'm a pro!" before he took off down the hall. This was his job – this was who he was – but it had been a long time since he'd had to feel any sort of concern over one of his colleagues. It was Uraraka – she had this – but his heart was thumping wildly in his chest like the bass was turned all the way to max on a speaker. He didn't bother trying to open the door since it was most likely locked, so he threw out a hand and caused an explosion strong enough to bust it down.

The door went sailing into the apartment and Bakugou followed it quickly, mini explosions bursting around his hands, only to come to a sudden halt and stare at the scene of her living room.

It was completely trashed. Furniture lied haphazardly, broken and tipped over. Her couch was cut nearly in half on the other side of the room, pillows torn to shreds and fluff everywhere. Books were strewn across the floor, the bookcase topped over. Pictures that had once been hanging on the wall were now on the floor shattered. There was blood everywhere. Finally, what caught Bakugou's eyes the most was a guy in some sort of villain get up slumped against the wall. Knives protruded from his fingers, blood slick on them. He was breathing shallowly, but he wasn't moving.

Something thumping against the wall to his left snagged Bakugou's attention and he looked over to see Uraraka leaning against the wall and slowly sliding down it. He rushed over to her immediately, taking in her various injuries, and crouched down to hold her by the arms so that she wouldn't fall over. Getting blood on him didn't bother him at all; the fact that she was bleeding from so many wounds did though.

"What the hell, Uraraka? Why would you let him get so many hits in?"

"Wasn't really the plan," Uraraka replied through gritted teeth. She let out a pained sigh when she finally managed to sit down. Her eyes weren't focused on him, drifting hazily through the room. "You're gonna owe me a new door."

"That's your first concern?" Bakugou scoffed. "I'm pretty sure your lease is gonna get terminated after all this damage."

Uraraka's head fell back against the wall. "Occupational hazard." She winced when Bakugou's hand drifted too near one of the cuts on her arm as he examined her. There was so much blood everywhere, but as far as he could tell, none of the wounds were serious. Most of them were superficial. They just drew a lot of blood.

Bakugou reached up to her face, cupping her chin like it would help him get a better look. "Look at you. He got you on one of your dumb, pink cheeks, Angel Face." Just the thought of that asshole cutting her up like that made Bakugou see red. He kind of hoped the guy would start to wake up so he had an excuse to go kick the shit out of him some more.

Uraraka touched the wound gently and then frowned when her fingers came back sticky with blood. "I guess I won't be able to take cute pictures for a while."

"Nah, you're still cute," Bakugou replied offhandedly as he was glaring down the unconscious villain. He could hear the steps and shouts of the police now as they ran down the hallway. Too late boys.

Only when he glanced back at Uraraka and saw the surprised look in her eyes and raised eyebrows did he realize what he'd just said and he scowled at her. Despite the pain and the look on his face that told her not to say a word, she managed a smile. He grasped onto her hand and pulled her to her feet with him as he stood up and then let go. She wavered for a bit, but he didn't move to help steady her, which she did on her own.

"This place is a wreck," Uraraka said.

Bakugou snorted. "Yeah, you did a real number on it. Did you throw your couch at him?"

Uraraka nodded her head. "Seemed like a good choice of weapon."

"Fucking unreal," Bakugou said, shaking his head at her. This girl. She was all sorts of crazy. She'd used her own furniture as weapons. No wonder the place looked as if he'd exploded his way through it. Though, as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, it was pretty cool. "Next time maybe catch the villain before they hunt you down?"

"I'll do my best," Uraraka replied dryly, shooting him a look.

Yeah, yeah, that was what she always said. She'd do her best. Freaking obnoxious. That kind of do-good attitude could make her annoying at times, but it was also very her. And clearly, judging from the way the villain was out cold, it had done very well for her. A small part of him, a part that he did his best to ignore, was kind of proud and even pleased. He'd come here thinking he might have to save her, but she'd done it all on her own. He knew better than to underestimate her, unlike some villains. She was a hero after all and she could rescue herself.


End file.
